The Travis Central Appraisal District is figuring out the values of properties faster and more accurately, all while fighting off a record number of protests and lawsuits, according to The Austin Monitor.
Lonnie Hendry, who heads the district’s commercial property division, described how the agency is searching through immense amounts of disparate online data.
“We’ve really changed the focus of our efforts from looking simply for sales prices to use as a method of validation for market value, and we’ve gone to what the market looks at, which is underwriting criteria, loan-to-value ratios, appraisals done for financing, re-financing,” Hendry told the newspaper.
Through this process, the agency contends that it is able to accurately assess values of commercial properties, which city and county leaders have long complained are taxed at a value far lower than they are actually worth on the market. The district reported that the appraised value of county properties has increased 16 percent this year over last. Commercial values shot up 23 percent, while home values climbed 8 percent.